The anatomy of a perfect cold outreach message

Whatever the medium, don’t tell us your life story. Keep things short, clear and obvious.

90% of Cold Outreach Messages I Receive Are Terrible

Like many people I’m constantly bombarded by cold sales messages via LinkedIn and email. Most of them fall into the trap of being a combination of the following:

• Too long
• Not clear on what they are asking me to do
• Not clear on what their company actually does
• Expect me to commit to a time intensive next step
• Poorly written
• Not relevant (to me or my company)

Needless to say, I am very unlikely to engage.

My Cold Outreach Approach

This is how I approach potential guests for my podcast on LinkedIn. I also adapt the message slightly to use it on Twitter and other platforms, usually just by changing the CTA. My goal is to convey clearly my value and what I want from them in the shortest message possible.

It’s also important to note, this is also sent to a carefully selected list of people, as opposed to a blanket outreach campaign. It’s just as important to put time and effort into working out who you…